Expandable core carrying mandrel



March 4, 1969 W I 3,430,889

EXPANDABLE CORE CARRYING MANDREL sr wx/ w ljim r HIS ATTORNEYS March 4, 1969 a. A. WHITEMAN EXPANDABLE CORE CARRYING MANDREL BENTON A.WHITEMAN Filed July 27, 1965 HIS ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure relates to an apparatus for winding Strip material onto cylindrical cores to provide strip conductor coils, the apparatus having a mandrel means for telescopically picking up a core at one station of the apparatus and indexing that core to a winding station of the apparatus where the mandrel is moved into engagement with a drive means of the apparatus that effects outward expansion of the mandrel to tightly hold the cylindrical core thereon whereby subsequent rotation of the drive means causes the core to rotate in unison thereon and draw the strip material in a coiled manner about the rotating core to produce the aforementioned strip conductor coil.

This invention relates to an improved mandrel for carrying and indexing a core in a strip conductor coil making apparatus or the like.

It is well known from the copending patent application, Ser. No. 366,497, filed May 11, 1964, that a strip conductor coil making apparatus can be provided wherein an indexing table is provided and carries a plurality of mandrels which are adapted to be indexed between various stations of the apparatus. When one of the mandrels is at a first station, the mandrel is insertable into a suitable hopper to pick up a cardboard core or the like whereby when the mandrel is indexed to another station, the mandrel is operatively interconnected to a drive shaft of the apparatus so that upon subsequent operation of the drive shaft, a strip conductor can be effectively wound on the core of the mandrel. Thereafter, the mandrel is indexed away from the drive shaft to a discharge station whereby the completed conductor coil and its associated core are ejected from the mandrel so that the mandrel can go through the preceding stations in a simple and effective manner.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved core carrying mandrel having one or more of the novel features set forth above or hereinafter shown or described.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved part for such a mandrel or the like.

Other objects, uses and advantages of this invention are apparent from a reading of this description which pro ceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a strip conductor coil formed according to the teachings of this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view illustrating the improved coil making apparatus of this invention.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating how the apparatus of FIGURE 2 attaches the leads to the strip conductor.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary, partial cross-sectional view illustrating the improved mandrel of this invention.

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4 and illustrates the mandrel of FIGURE 4 in one of its operating positions.

FIGURE 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the improved mandrel of FIGURE 4.

While the various features of this invention are here- 3,430,889 Patented Mar. 4, 1969 inafter illustrated and described as being particularly adaptable for providing a mandrel for a strip conductor coil winding apparatus or the like, it is to be understood that the various features of this invention can be utilized singly or in any combination thereof to provide mandrels for other devices or the like.

Therefore, this invention is not to be limited to only the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, because the drawings are merely utilized to illustrate one of the wide variety of uses of this invention.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, an improved strip conductor coil is generally indicated by the reference numeral 10 and comprises a substantially hollow cylindrical cardboard core 11 having a thin conductive strip 12 coiled thereon in a manner hereinafter described, the strip of conductive material 12 having an inner end 13 and an outer end 14 with a transversely disposed inner lead 15 interconnected to the end 13 and an outer lead 16 interconnected to the outer end 15. In order to hold the outer coil of the strip conductor 12 in its coiled relation, a suitable pressure sensitive tape 17 is utilized.

The apparatus for continuously making the strip conductor coils 10 is generally indicated by the reference numeral 18 in FIGURE 2 and includes a frame means 19 carrying a free wheeling supply roll 20 of conductive strip material 12 and a free wheeling supply roll 21 of strip insulating material if the material 21 is to be wound with the strip of conductive material 12 to provide an insulating means between adjacent coils of the strip of material 12 in the manner fully set forth in the aforementioned copending patent application.

The strips of material 12 and 21 are fed in unison through the apparatus 18 to continuously form the strip conductor coils 10.

The apparatus 18 carries a suitable hopper 22 in which a plurality of cores 11 are provided in such a manner that the cores 11 are serially disposed at a recess 23 at the bottom of the hopper 22.

An indexable, rotatable table 24 is provided and carries a plurality of mandrels 25 of this invention, each mandrel 25 being carried on the outer end of a piston rod 26 carried by a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder 27 mounted to the table 24.

The mandrels 25 are adapted to be indexed between three stations 28, 29 and 30 in a manner hereinafter described, each mandrel 25, when at the station 28 and extended outwardly by its respective cylinder 27, is received in the recess 23 of the hopper 22 to pick up a core 11 in a manner hereinafter described. Thereafter, the cylinder 27 retracts the mandrel 25 from the station 28 so that the table 24 can index that particular mandrel 25 to the station 29. With the mandrel 25 now at the station 29, the particular cylinder 27 extends the mandrel 25 so that the same is operatively interconnected to a drive shaft 31 in a manner hereinafter described whereby rotation of the drive shaft 31 causes like rotation of the mandrel 25 therewith whereby the core 11 disposed on the mandrel 25 is rotated in the proper direction so that the strips of material 12 and 21 can be wound thereon to produce the strip conductor coil 10.

As the strips of material 12 and 21 are drawn through the apparatus 18 to be wound on a particular core 11 at the station 29, the winding of the coil 10 is momentarily stopped so that cold welding apparatus 10A of the apparatus 18 can cold weld the leads 15 and 16 to the strip of material 12 in side-by-side relation in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 3 and provide a separation line 15B therebe-tween. Thereafter, the strips of material 12 and 21 are separated at the line 15B, so that the lead 16 can form the outer lead in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 1 and the lead 15 can form the inner lead of a new strip conductor coil 10 in the manner fully disclosed in the aforementioned copending patent application.

Thereafter, the mandrel 25 at the station 29 is retracted from the drive shaft 31 so that the table 24 can index the particular mandrel 25 to the station 30 whereby the strip conductor coil thereon can be ejected down a chute 32 by ejecting apparatus 80.

Therefore, it can be seen that the apparatus 18 is readily adapted to continuously produce the strip conductor coils 10 in substantially the same manner as set forth in the aforementioned copending patent application.

The particular details of the mandrels 25 of the apparatus 18 will now be described as the same form the subject matter of this invention, reference being made to FIGURES 4-6.

As illustrated in FIGURES 4-6, each mandrel 25 includes a member 33 rotatably mounted on the end 34 of a piston rod 26 by suitable bearing means 35, the piston rod 26 being operably interconnected to its associated pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder 27 fastened to the rotatable table 24 by suitable bracket means 36.

The retainer or member 33 has an externally threaded portion 37 threadedly receiving a collar 38 having a pair of spaced outwardly directed shoulders 39 and 40. The shoulders 39 and 40 respectively have recesses 41 and 42 provided therein. A leaf-type spring 43 is provided and has one end 44 fastened in the recess 42 of the shoulder 40 by fastening means 45 whereby the other end 46 of the spring 43 extends through the recess 41 of the shoulder 39 and is arcuate to normally extend above the other peripheral surface of the shoulder 39 for a purpose hereinafter described.

A short shaft 47 is provided and has one end 48 received in a bore 49 of the member 33 and is fixed thereto by suitable pin means 50. The other end 51 of the shaft 47 carries a gear or clutch member 52 adapted to mesh with a gear or clutch end 53 of the previously described drive shaft 31 for a purpose hereinafter described.

The drive shaft 31 carries a collar 54 having a recess 55 provided in the right-hand end thereof in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 4 whereby the clutch part 52 of the mandrel 25 can be received in the recess 55 and mesh with the clutch end 53 of the drive shaft 31 in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 5 while the right-hand end 56 of the part 54 will telescope over the clutch part 52 of the mandrel 25 for a purpose hereinafter described.

A frusto-conical member 57 is provided and telescopically receives the shaft 47 in a bore 58 thereof whereby the smaller end 59 of the frusto-conical member 57 abuts against the right side 60 of the clutch part 52 of the shaft 47. The frusto-conical member 57 is fixed to the shaft 47 by a set screw 61 threadedly received in a threaded transverse bore 62 of the member 57, the set screw 61 having an end 63 extending beyond the outer peripheral surface of the member 57 for a purpose hereinafter described.

A plurality of tapering segments 64 are provided and are adapted to be disposed in sliding relation on the outer peripheral surface of the frusto-conical member 57 in the manner illustrated in FIGURES 4 and 5, one of the segments 64 having a transverse slot 65 provided therein and receiving the extending end 63 of the set screw 61 for a purpose hereinafter described.

In order to hold all of the segments 64 in assembled relation on the frusto-conical member 57, each of the segments 64 is provided with spaced grooves 66 aligned with the other grooves 66 of the assembled members 64 whereby a pair of continuous resilient bands 67 are adapted to be received in the aligned grooves 66 to hold all of the segments 64 in assembled relation on the frustoconical member 57 while the pin 61 in the slot 65 of one of the segments 64 limits sliding axial movement of all of the segments 64 relative to the frusto-conical mem er 57 from the extreme left-hand position illus- 4 trated in FIGURE 4 to the extreme right-hand position illustrated in FIGURE 5.

When the segments 64 are assembled on the frustoconical member 57 in the manner illustrated in FIG- URE 4, it can be seen that the segments 64 define an outer peripheral surface on the mandrel 25 which is substantially cylindrical regardless of the axial position of the segments 64 relative to the frusto-conical member 57 in the manner illustrated in FIGURES 4 and 5.

A washer-like collar 68 is telescoped over the shaft 47 by means of an aperture 69 of the member 68 whereby the washer 68 is adapted to abut the larger end 70 of the frusto-conical member 57 in the manner illustrated in FIGURE 4 under the force of a compression spring 71 having one end 72 abutting against the member 33 and the other end 73 abutting against the washer 68 for a purpose hereinafter described.

Therefore, it can be seen that the mandrels 25 of this invention are relatively simple to manufacture and are readily adapted to perform the function previously described for the apparatus 18 in a manner now to be described.

When the particular mandrel 25 is disposed at the station 28 of the apparatus 18 of FIGURE 2 with the piston rod 26 being in its retracted position, the force of the compression spring 71 has moved the washer-like member 68 to the left in FIGURE 4 until the same engages the end 70 of the frusto-conical member 57 whereby all of the segments 64 are moved to their full positions to the left so that the same define an outer peripheral cylindrical surface having its smallest diameter.

Subsequently, when the mandrel 25 at the station 28 is extended by its particular cylinder 27 into the recess 23 of the hopper 22, the segments 64 of the mandrel 25 received in the hollow core 11 with the mandrel 25 being extended until the end 74 of the core 11 abuts against the shoulder 39 of the member 33 in the manner illustrated by dotted lines in FIGURE 4. As the core 11 is telescopically received on the mandrel 25, it can be seen that the end 46 of the leaf spring 43 will be cammed downwardly by the internal peripheral surface of the core 11 to the dotted position illustrated in FIGURE 4 whereby the force of the leaf spring 43 tending to move outwardly will hold the core 11 on the mandrel 25.

Thereafter, the mandrel 25 is retracted from the recess 23 of the hopper 22 whereby the telescoped core 11 is carried therewith because of the holding force of the leaf springs 43. With the mandrel 25 now in its retracted position at station 28, the table 24 is indexed so that the corecarrying mandrel 25 will be positioned at station 29. The particular cylinder 27 then extends the mandrel 25 from the position illustrated in FIGURE 4 to the position illustrated in FIGURE 5 whereby the clutch part 52 of the shaft 47 is placed in meshing relation with clutch part 53 of the drive shaft 31. However, as the shaft 47 is extended toward the drive shaft 31, it can be seen that the end of the collar 56 on the drive shaft 31 abuts against the left-hand sides 75 of the segments 64 to cause the same to move to the right relative to the frusto-conical member 57 whereby the segments 64 ride up on the slanting surface of the frusto-conical member 57 so that the same moves radially outwardly in opposition to the force of the resilient bands 67 and in opposition to the force of the compression spring 71. In this manner, when the clutch part 52 of the shaft 47 is placed in meshing relation with the clutch part 53 of the drive shaft 31, the segments 64 have been moved radially outwardly to such a position that the same tightly compact against the interior peripheral surface of the core 11 to positively hold the core 11 on the mandrel 25. With the segments 64 tightly compacted against the internal peripheral surface of the core 11 in the position illustrated in FIGURE 5, subsequent rotation of the drive shaft 31 will cause like rotation of the mandrel 25 whereby the core 11 will rotate in unison therewith without slippage therebetween be cause the segments 64 are firmly placed into positive engagement with the internal peripheral surface of the core 11.

Therefore, it can be seen that as the drive shaft 31 is rotated, the core 11 rotates in unison therewith so that the strips of material 12 and 21 can be Wound thereon in the manner set forth in the aforementioned copending patent application.

If desired, the collar 56 can be urged to the position illustrated in the drawings by a compression spring (not shown) on the drive shaft 31 so that the amount of movement of the segments 64 to the right would be limited by the force of the compression spring on the drive shaft 31 whereby thesegments 64 would not be moved radially outwardly with too great a force being imposed on the core 11 carried thereby.

After a strip conductor coil has been wound on the mandrel 25 at the station 29, the cylinder 27 retracts the mandrel 25 at the station 29 so that the coil 16] is carried therewith and the shaft 47 is disconnected from the drive shaft 31. With the mandrel 25 in its retracted position, it can be seen that the force of the compression spring 71 will again move the collar 68 to the left to move the segments 64 therewith from the position illustrated in FIG- DRE 5 back to the position illustrated in FIGURE 4, whereby the segments 64 are placed out of tight engagement with the internal peripheral surface of the core 11. However, the core 11 with its strips of material 12 and 21 wound thereon is still held to the mandrel 25 by the force of the leaf spring 43, so that when the mandrel 25 swings from the station 29 to the station 30, the coil 10 is still held thereon.

However, the ejecting mechanism 33 at the station is readily adapted to strip the strip conductor coil 10 from the mandrel 25 as the same merely has to overcome the force of the leaf spring 43.

Therefore, it can be seen that the mandrels 25 of this invention are readily adapted to perform the core-carrying function of the apparatus 18 in an improved manner over the mandrels disclosed in the aforementioned copending patent application.

Thus, this invention provides an improved mandrel having many novel features.

While the form of the invention now preferred has been disclosed as required by the statutes, other forms may be used, all coming within the scope of the clalms which follow.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a drive means, a mandrel having a portion thereof for telescopically carrying a tubular core relative to said drive means on the outer peripheral surface means of said mandrel portion and having driven means for releasable connection with said drive means, said mandrel including a substantially frusto-conical member and a plurality of segments axially movable on said frusto-conical member and defining said outer periphcral surface means of said mandrel portion, spring means for normally tending to maintain said segments in one axial position relative to said frusto-conical member whereby the outer peripheries thereof define a first cylindrical surface means readily adapted to be received in said core, power means to axially shift said mandrel to engage said driven means with said drive means, said drive means having a portion engaged by said mandrel to effect movement of said segments to another axial position relative to said frusto-conical member thereof so that said segments outwardly expand said mandrel portion to define a second cylindrical surface means tightly engaging the interior surface of said core to hold said core to rotate substantially in unison with said inandrel said mandrel having annular spring band means disposed about said segments holding said segments to said frusto-coincal member while permitting axial movement of said segments relative to said frusto-conical member, said mandrel carrying a leaf spring for contacting the interior surface of said core to hold said core to said mandrel when said segments are in said one axial position thereof.

2. A combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said spring means comprises a disc telescoped on said mandrel, and compression spring means normally urging said disc against said segments to move said segments to said one axial position thereof.

3. A combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said power means comprises a piston and cylinder arrangement that carries said mandrel to move said driven means toward and away from said drive means to respectively connect and disconnect said driven means to and from said drive means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,943,807 7/1960 Loop 242-72.1 3,034,740 5/ 1962 Larsen 242--72.l 3,087,688 4/1963 Anderson et al. 242-721 XR 3,136,493 6/1964 Swanson 2429 3,154,262 10/1964 Cohen et a1. 24272.1 XR 3,207,454 9/1965 Bendar 242-721 XR BILLY S. TAYLOR, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

